Saturday, October 27, 2012

STUFF NIGHTMARES ARE MADE OF

Not spiders this time. Nope. Sorry. This is the stuff nightmares are made of - although spiders do that to me too. So does deep water - and heights for that matter. Flying has much the same effect and small spaces. But this - this was different. I had a horrible - the most horrible nightmare the other night. And it wasn't even after watching a horror movie - which I admit that I do enjoy. They are usually too unrealistic to believe and I generally laugh throughout. Even those suspense ones that are supposedly modelled on real stories - real events that took place. Even that I can handle - simply by brainwashing myself to believing that - nahhh - it's all fake. It might not be fake but telling myself that is the only way I can relax about it.

But the other night - oh no. The difference - this one sprang from reality. MY reality. Damn it. And it could happen again. But that's not stopping me.

As is well known I am fighting bullying. And again as is equally well known I am a past victim of this. My book 'Bullseye' is to do with my fight. And just last year I did an article for one of Australia's national magazines about this - a tiny bit of my own experience was mentioned, but apart from that, I have never really said anything about my own nightmare.

Recently, I had the wonderful honour of befriending another author in Australia - I am actually establishing contact with quite a lot of authors world wide, some very well known, others new to the business. All are absolutely fantastic people. One in particular, when I mentioned her successful debut novel and that I stick to non-fiction as my imagination and creativity usually fail badly if I try to write using those. This wonderful lady then stunned me and mentioned that her book is based on her life experience. She then suggested that I do the same thing with my bullying experience.

So I am. I have begun a novel based on my own experience. And have realised this is the first time I have really opened up about it. About the whole thing. Everything will be revealed in this book which I am hard at work on - a huge labour of love, believe me. I am currently writing the introduction - taking a walk through my few visits back to the school - and the memories are zooming back. Some of them really surprising and scaring me - a few incidents which I had completely and absolutely forgotten. And they didn't necessarily involve my bullies........

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About Me

Lannah was born in South Australia in 1955, and raised on "Pitcairn Station". Her primary education was provided by School of the Air and correspondence lessons, followed by boarding school in Adelaide. Later, she went on to hold a variety of positions in Adelaide and then in other states.
After travelling overseas she returned home via Western Australia and decided to settle there. Lannah and her husband, Stuart, have two daughters, Robyn and Fiona, both in their twenties.
Lannah works full time. She is passionate about her family, animals, the outback of Australia, and writing, among many other interests.